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Introduction

Here in Lengbeau, we'll be the first to admit: we have not done enough for our female readers. The world of mechanical watches has been, and will likely to continue being a predominately masculine space. And that's not hard to understand. To expect a lady who might not be very familiar with the watch industry to get excited by, say, owning a vintage Rolex Explorer Ref.1016, is not that different from expecting a man to get excited by the news of M.A.C releasing a new mascara line. At the risk of sounding sexist, Haute Horlogerie and all the sweet mechanical, engineering wonders that come with it (think perpetual calendar, minute repeater, tourbillon) do indeed appeal more to men than ladies. They just do.

But things have evolved over the years. With a renewed interest in well thought out timepieces from ladies around the world, watchmakers are racing to introduce watches that not just look beautiful, but represent a high level of mechanical robustness in their own rights. The shifting of design focus from look, to look PLUS engineering prowess in a high-end ladies watch is evident, and from the perspective of a watch blog, we Lengbeau fully embrace this industry trend, simply because it means we can finally do our female readers justice by saying a thing or two about ladies watches that intrigue us too.

And this week, we give you exactly that: a review on the newly released, Parmigiani Tonda Metropolitaine Selene series for ladies. We got our hands on two excellent references from the collection last week when we sat down with the brand (where we also handled the outstanding Tonda 1950 Meteorite Rose Gold). And if you're a male reader and have read this article up to this point, do stay around to read whole thing, you know, in case you need to buy your Juliet something special.

The very reference shown in the picture above is clearly the more feminine interpretation amongst the two we've got to review (we will reveal the other one very shortly). Standing at a female wearer-friendly 33.2mm, it is a watch that combines taste and complications well. Let's start with examining a couple of design cues that impressed us.

First and foremost, the stainless steel case is thoroughly polished, as seen from the sheen reflected off its lugs. While the case is not made of more precious materials such as rose gold or white gold, Parmigiani has more than made up for it with the adornment of the bevel with - wait for it - 72 pieces of diamond each with an unit mass of 0.51 carats. We are no gemology expert but man, THAT, is one exquisite watch case. And let us not forget while huge amount of manual effort is injected into the creating of a watch movement, bejewelling has also become an absolute key skill any watch brand must possess, which commands no less man hours to be poured in. So kudos to Parmigiani for doing so in a very tasteful way here, without making the whole matter too gaudy or loud.

Diamonds are forever, so they said.

Moving on to the watch face itself, we are very pleased with the white mother-of-pearl dial, paired with a lotus flower depicted at the centre of the dial showcasing the satin-finish and polishing across the "petals". The choice of lotus as the source of inspiration for the floral pattern is especially clever, in the sense that lotus is a plant that blooms at night, just as the moon rises, which perfectly echoes one of the star complications seen here: the moonphase indicator at 12 o'clock.

The moonphase indicator is perhaps the most romantic complication of all, serving the purpose of displaying the evolving shape of the moon across lunation. While not super practical (I can't think of anyone who needs to know whether we have a full moon or a first quarter moon on any given day), this is a truly beautiful complication to behold. The telling of the lunation stage is achieved with a rotating disc sprinkled with golden stars and 2 golden moons, against the white/dark blue background representing the sky through an aperture.

The same reference in another dial and case option. A close-to full moon in gold displayed at 12 o'clock.

The hue of the moon is not strictly golden, but rather, a more realistic russet. That, coupled with the incorporation of "craters" on the surface of the moon, truly gives rise to a moonphase indicator that enchants its wearer with its poetic presence.

The layout of the dial is further made balanced with the sub-dial at 6 o'clock, serving as both a second indicator as well as the date aperture at the bottom of it. The indexes are, as usual, rose gold plated complimented with the instantly recognisable Parmigiani delta-shaped hands.

Movement wise, the Tonda Metropolitaine Selene is powered by Parmigiani's in-house automatic Calibre PF318 with a respectable power reserve of 50 hours. While many ladies have opted to wear a quartz watch over a mechanical because of the sheer fact that a quartz watch wouldn't stop running even if not worn for an extended period of time, you should rest assured that you can rest your Tonda Metropolitaine Selene for the weekend without having to worry about having to shake your watch like crazy to bring to back to operation when Monday arrives.

Conclusion

In a perfect world, it would make more sense for a female editor to do this review and tell you how she feels from a woman's perspective handling the Tonda Metropolitaine Selene. But in this case, we didn't find it too hard to give it a go and actually write something about the watches, simply because luxury ladies watches have definitely caught with their men counterparts in terms of technical consideration and Parmigiani has certainly gone to great length to offer its female customers both aesthetic pleasure and technical competence with its Tonda Metropolitaine Selene.